Change in color could level of stress for EKU students

It's little wonder that some college students have bloody visions when they get back their graded exams. After all, if students make a crummy grade on an exam, they will literally see red in most cases. Teachers traditionally use red ink pens to grade papers.

But some say the rosy color of the traditional grading pen is actually harmful to students' state of mind.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the theory that red ink causes stress and self-consciousness among students has taken hold of many public schools across the nation.

Some schools have gone so far as to prohibit teachers from grading with red ink.

What makes red ink potentially harmful?

According to some theories, red ink has earned a bad reputation over the years.

Red has been the color of choice among educators for hundreds of years. In fact, red-inked-corrections date back to the 1700s.



Present day controversy

But the ink's history has caused controversy in some school systems.

Since red ink traditionally is used to point out students' mistakes, one theory suggests that most scholars associate the color with feelings of dread and stress.

"It makes me feel like I failed when I see a lot of red," said Kaitlyn German, a freshman undeclared major.

Dorothy Porteus, a school support specialist, told FOXNews.com that the color red stands out in a negative way.

"They put all this effort into something and by marking it with red, in some ways it is like tearing their hard work to shreds," she said.

And the meaning behind the color might cause some students to feel stressed.

According to www.color-wheel-pro.com, the color red is emotionally intense.

The color can cause increased respiration rates and high blood pressure.

Lawrence Jones, a former graphic design instructor, told The San Diego Union-Tribune that many people associate the color red with danger, stopping and blood.

"I usually don't use red because it has the connotation of blood on the paper," said Judy Britt, an associate professor of curriculum and instruction at Eastern.

Is purple the new red?

Many teachers are ditching the traditional red pen for "softer" colors such as purple and green.

Britt said she knows a professor who will only grade with purple ink because the color is, supposedly, friendlier.

The color wheel Web site said the color purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red.

It is associated with wisdom, independence and dignity, and 75 percent of children prefer purple to all other colors.

Since the debate of red versus purple ink became an issue among some educators, Paper Mate added the color purple to its pen selections.

And, in recent years, office supply stores such as Staples and Office Max have begun stocking a variety of purple pens.

Still, some professors say purple ink is less effective.

"I have tried purple ink, and it doesn't show up," said Dr. Dorothy Carter, an associate professor of foreign languages at Eastern.



Is red ink really damaging to students?

Some professionals say the color of the grading pen has nothing to do with students' feelings.

"It's not the red color," Carter said. "If you switch to green or purple ink, it will still cause stress."

And Carter said being stressed as a result of a poor grade isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Education should not be and cannot be stress-free," she said.

Sheldon Brown, a visual arts professor at the University of California, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the notion that red ink is harmful to students is embedded in teachers' heads-not students'.

"Teachers may start out using purple," Brown said. "(Students) are going to think purple is an awful color."



Student opinion

"(Red) doesn't stress me out more than any other color," said Ashley Judd, a senior elementary education major at Eastern.

Judd said she received red ink pens as part of gift bag for her practicum teaching class. And she said she plans to use them.

And even though she said she usually grades papers in blue or purple ink, Professor Britt doesn't give the color of the ink a lot of credit.

"It's more important to give students good, positive feedback than worry about the color of the ink," she said.

How will the red ink debate affect college students?

The teaching manual for political science graduate students at Stanford University suggests that future professors should steer clear of red ink when editing papers.

The manual said professors should keep in mind that "students will be demoralized by a sea of red ink."

Still, some professors said the red-ink-scare has yet to affect most college scholars.

"With children you might want to use a more friendly color, but college kids read the words," Britt said.

Dr. Carter said some public school districts will require teachers to get rid of their red ink pens, but that most likely will never happen at universities.

"Of all the things we should be worrying about in education, this is the last one," she said.


Reach Jenna at jenna_mink6@eku.edu